United Answers Critics With Five In Second Half

Wigan 0 - Manchester United 5
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (56, 65), Berbatov (58), Owen (85), Nani (90)

Team: Foster, Evans (O'Shea 72), Vidic, Neville, Evra, Fletcher, Scholes (Gibson 72), Nani, Valencia, Berbatov, Rooney (Owen 72)

United answered the critics to their horrid performance at the midweek in devastating fashion, smashing 5 past Wigan at the newly named JW Stadium (formerly JJB Stadium).

The first half was a typical United game, plenty of possession but terribly goal-shy. Our best chances fell to Fletcher and then subsequently Scholes, but both missed horribly. Wigan had their chances but good defending and Foster kept the game scoreless.

United sprung to life in the second half, with Rooney notching up his century for the club in emphatic fashion with a header in the top left hand corner. Berbatov, who has been ridiculously hardworking on the night scored a beautiful individual goal, first deftly lifting the ball beyond the Wigan keeper then volleying the ball into the net.

It wasn't long before Wigan wondered what hit them when Rooney twisted and turned in the box, unleashing a shot that deflected into the net giving the good guys a 3-0 lead.

With a commanding lead, Ferguson decided to give the two-goal hero a rest along with veteran Scholes, bringing on Owen to shoulder the scoring load. And he didn't disappoint. In a trademark turn and spin move, Owen cleared himself of the defense and scored United's fourth in the 85th minute.

Nani got into the celebration with good freekick to exocise the ghost of Ronaldo. In all, this was the best answer to all the naysayers, myself included.

However, at the same time, this is also our biggest problem. As mentioned in previous posts, our strikers are going to get their share of the goals, but we need more than that to mount a sustained campaigned. Everyone needs to contribute to the shortfall left by Ronaldo and Tevez. As evident in the first half, our midfielders are still unable to fill the deficit when the chances present themselves. We need to be more clinical and more efficient in front of goal. Not everyday we're going to face a team that's going to present us a boatload of chances.

But let's keep those worries for another day. Today is a day to celebrate a great victory, and let's enjoy it while we can.